


World in my Hands (Mundo)

by xyma



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Cuddling, Established Relationship, I fucking cry, M/M, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Shiro cries, Short One Shot, Song: Mundo (IV of Spades), The Night Before the Mission, keith cries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-27 05:06:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14418315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xyma/pseuds/xyma
Summary: The night before the Kerberos launch, Shiro holds Keith in his arms and treasures what could be his last touches of a forever.He has no doubt of the road he has chosen to go down by, he’s wanted this for so long, so much, to honor not only his own career and accomplishments, but to give tribute to all the shades of family that’s done so much for him.But it’s really different,he whispers into the younger boy’s hair, when the clock is close to striking 2 am,when you’ve been wishing to see the world in its entirety just to find that it could fit in the palm of your hand.





	World in my Hands (Mundo)

**Author's Note:**

> When reading this, please listen to [the inspiration of it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANnNNXEmGus) at the same time for maximum mood! (Can also be found on Spotify as "Mundo by IV of Spades")
> 
> The lines that will be mentioned are from the english translation. Even if you can't understand it, the feel of the song itself is what inspired this short fic and is enough, I think. 
> 
> Let yourself feel it in its entirety, and I hope you enjoy this fic! 

_These words that we're saying_  
_Where will they go_  
_If you leave me, I hope not_  
_Just hold on tight, don't break away_

The night before the Kerberos launch, Shiro holds Keith in his arms and treasures what could be his last touches of a forever. He has no doubt of the road he has chosen to go down by, he’s wanted this for so long, so much, to honor not only his own career and accomplishments, but to give tribute to all the shades of family that’s done so much for him. _But it’s really different,_ he whispers into the younger boy’s hair, when the clock is close to striking 2 am, _when you’ve been wishing to see the world in its entirety just to find that it could fit in the palm of your hand._

He takes all he could possibly take in his final hours. Memorizing the feel of his lover’s face on his fingertips, each and every little sunspot from staying out too long and forgetting to put on the moisturizer he despises so much. He remembers and commits to his own memory the vision of every single sunset and sunrise they’ve spent together, hoping to see the finalities of each constellation the nights before. He remembers holding each of Keith’s fingertips as he used counting constellations as an excuse to hold his palm and slowly drag his fingers along them. He remembers the first constellation and star he committed into the younger boy’s memory.

Proxima Centauri of the constellation Centaurus, the closest star to the Earth they called home. He remembers it for what it is.

 _The closest star, yet cannot be seen in the vastness of space._

He doesn’t know if Keith’s still awake, but he carefully brings the other’s hand to his lips, kissing his knuckles gently and whispers its name to his fingers like it was a promise. Unfolding the fingers to kiss his palm, he draws the constellation with his thumb and kisses it where Proxima Centauri should be. He can’t help but feel a degree of anguish, seeing the remnants of dried tears down the curves of the younger boy’s eyes. He can’t forget the words of his world, and it hurts him to see him try his best to be selfless, when he knows that letting go is the hardest thing.

_Don't worry if it seems difficult_  
_Come on, come with me, let's gaze upon the stars_

 _“No… Go. Be great.”_ Keith said, low and as soft as a whisper, when Shiro told him he could drop everything and stay, even if it was joke, while they were sharing a drink on the rooftop of the Garrison.

Shiro spent every second of that night staring at him as he slept at his side with the night sky as their blanket. It was an odd feeling, being a space explorer who forgot the stars and then seeing the ever expanding space in the eyes of one singular being. 

He imagines himself to be much like a planet leaving its Sun behind, missing its warmth from the inside-out, eternally, until proximity allowed it back. Pain on its own always feels like an eternity. Shiro can’t breathe, holding Keith closer and wondering why his dreams and ambitions could make him hurt like this. Why of all things, distance would be the price he had to pay for seeing the stars. 

But he can forget the whole world if it meant another second of this, another moment to hold the world in the palm of his hand and find himself stepping into the sway of its orbit, forever stuck to the gravity of what can never be his. Of the home he can hold in his harms.

  
_My love, you are now my home and my world_  
_When you come back, I'll be staying in your arms_  
_My world will become you_

Keith stirs, and Shiro finds himself gazing into the pair of sleep-laced eyes as violet as space. He could only smile, despite the sheer difficulty of it, remembering how it was his favorite color long before they had met, how it dominated his papers using crudely formulated crayons when he was already hoping to see the world that no average man could see. He finds it a cruel joke to be the same color as what he’s leaving behind.

He finds _himself_ cruel for giving this up, but he forgets that when his world kisses him right then and there. It’s past 2:30 am, but Shiro doesn’t want a single second to pass any longer. 

They don’t say a word, lost in a slow tandem of silent kisses and hands moving over skin like they knew that what was between them was fragile. Shiro’s hands spend most of their time holding Keith’s face, brushing building tears away with his thumb and kissing the bridge of his nose. He doesn’t realize his own eyes watering, doesn’t realize his own hands shaking, until the other takes them in his own and kisses him breathless. 

He’s never felt so small before, even when his frame holds the smaller body infront of him so securely. He feels like his word is falling apart, realizing everything he’s leaving behind. 

They don’t exchange a word, lost in the silences of the last night they’ll have together in a while, but Keith whispers affirmations into his mouth, and Shiro isn’t sure who they’re for, but they comfort him all the same.

_“I love you.”_  
_“I’m proud of you.”_  
_“Come back to me.”_  
_“I’ll be waiting.”_  
_“I’ll always be waiting.”_  


A fog settles in his mind and the weight of it pulls his head into a fleeting plane, from the crying he figures, and he’s lost again in the slow, painstaking pace of constant goodbyes. They’re both crying, now, letting themselves ease into each other’s space and savoring it. Forgetting the world, forgetting the stars, and forgetting what tomorrow may bring, they treasure this. This is all they need right now, this is all they want to hold in the fleeting minutes until the final sunrise, the last feeling they want to carry with them before the stars tear them apart.

  
_My world will become you_  
_My love, you are now my home and my world_  
_When you come back, I'll be staying in your arms_  
_My world will become you_

 _Let's forget about the world_  
_So we can be together_  


**Author's Note:**

> Translation is taken from [here](https://steemit.com/music/@milesparker557/iv-of-spades-mundo-world-lyrics-english-translation)! If you can understand Tagalog, please know that it wasn't directly translated line by line, but with the intention of holding the message of the song! (This fic did not go through the BETA stage because I wanted it to be as raw from my heart as I could make it, but it might in the future. Lmk if you're interested!) 
> 
> Arguably, people might say that "oh, they were thinking they'd see each other again anyway after", "why would Shiro be so sad about leaving if this is what he wanted", but as someone who has personally seen people go abroad for their studies have this level of combined sadness and need for comfort with their significant other in the days prior their flights, the pain of proximity isn't something easy to understand. These S.O.s, despite being extremely proud of them, tend to hold in their expression of wanting them to stay just so they wouldn't feel bad for leaving. Couples enduring any form of LDR is a couple I hold in such high respect, and I was hoping to encapsulate even a small speck of what that feeling would be like.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments. <3


End file.
